In the early development of the mammalian face, the most prominent features are the nasal placodes. The placodes participate in formation of the lateral and medial processes which, in turn, contribute to the formation of the nasal pits and the primary palate. My previous work indicated that the placodal invaginations shaped the nasal pits and positioned the nasal processes for the alignment and contact necessary for closure of the primary palate. Since contact and adhesions in other systems appear to be mediated by surface coat material, this study investigated the alteration in surface coat material during placodal organization. Results of the biochemical comparison of focuse and glucosamine incorporation between placodal and lonplacodal facial epithelia demonstrate that the placodal epithelium accumulates these sugars in its membranes and sugar coat material. This finding suggests that placodal cells are undergoing differentiation, expressed by morphological shape changes, reduction in DNA synthesis, as well as, synthesis of surface associated macromolecules. A cleft of the primary palate may be due to abnormal cell surface alterations on the placodes or nonalignment of the contacting nasal processes; this study is investigating both possibilities.